


Preliminary Meeting

by Panerato (Pandorama36)



Category: Enola Holmes (2020), Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Crime Scenes, First Meetings, Gore related to crime scene, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:13:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28342203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandorama36/pseuds/Panerato
Summary: Sherlock has just arrived at the scene of a crime regarding a well to do lady. She appears to have drowned in the river. His attentions are temporarily drawn away from the crime by a young man examining the body. Who is this man and why is Sherlock finding he is so fascinated by him?
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 55





	Preliminary Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I did some research regarding autopsies during this time period, and information regarding the river Thames. I am not an expert, and really wanted to get their first meeting written without worrying about details too much. I apologize if some information regarding policework, etc. isn’t correct. I did the best I could with what information I had and with what research I was patient enough to do. Hopefully any errors I made aren’t too glaring to take away from the story. Enjoy!

There was a crowd of onlookers, as expected when Sherlock arrived at the scene of the crime. He moved past the police line, the officers at the scene recognizing him. It was fortunate. It wasn’t always the case, and he hated dealing with formalities. It was so tedious.

Lestrade greeted him as he approached the victim’s body. A woman. Late twenties, early thirties from what he could tell. They had pulled her out of the river. She had apparently drowned. He had wondered initially why he had been called on to work the case of a simple drowning, but from the overwhelming police force, and the expensive clothing of the lady, it was apparent she was someone or knew someone important. Likely, Lestrade wanted the case closed, and fast.

Having been preoccupied with analyzing the crime scene, he had initially missed the young man crouching next to the victim. He was carefully examining her head. Traces of blood still remained around a gash in her skull. The young man, a brunette, formally dressed, but nothing too expensive. Holmes noticed his suit was well pressed, and his shoes recently polished. His bangs were slightly pushed back, but kept falling into his face. The young man tilted his head slightly to keep his hair out of his eyes while he continued to examine the woman.

Lestrade turned back to the young man, “Find anything?”

He didn’t look up as he spoke, “She has a gash in her head, but it’s not deep enough to be the cause of death. It appears she drowned.”

Lestrade nodded, “So she fell in, hit her head on something in the water, and drowned? Easy enough case. Looks like we didn’t need you after all.”

The medical examiner opened his mouth, but Sherlock interrupted him before he could continue.

“She didn’t drown. She was murdered.”

Lestrade frowned as he turned to Sherlock, “You would say that, wouldn’t you? And why do you say she was murdered?”

“She was young, and fit. Even if she didn’t know how to swim and fell in the river, she could have put up enough of a fight to stay above water long enough for someone to dive in and rescue her.”

“The current of the river was strong, it pulled her under,” Lestrade reasoned.  
The river Thames was known for it’s strong current, sucking victims under the water for days. 

Sherlock shook his head, “This part of the river is calmer than the rest. It’s a straightway with no bridges or moorings to interrupt the river flow and create undertows.”

Lestrade frowned, “Then she drowned further down the river, and washed up here.”

Sherlock started to talk, but it was his turn to be interrupted.

“If I may?” the medical examiner spoke up. 

Sherlock’s gaze turned toward the man kneeling before him. Bright blue eyes met his own. It sent a shiver down his spine.

“She was found in the river not long ago. According to my examination, taking into account the cold waters of the Thames, she died not long ago. Her body would not have had time to drift down to this part of the river between her time of death and discovery.”

Sherlock smirked as he turned back to Lestrade, “See? He’s joined my way of thinking now.”

“Actually,” the man stood up, grabbing a handkerchief from his pocket and using it to wipe off the victim’s blood from his hands, “I never disagreed.”

Sherlock raised an eyebrow, “You said she drowned. Did you not think it was an accident?”

The man smiled as he shook his head, “I said it appeared she drowned. I still don’t know the cause of death. I was going to wait to give my full results till I could perform an autopsy.”

Sherlock blinked in surprise then huffed a laugh. He shook his head, “My apologies, I had interrupted you before you could finish.”

The man shrugged his shoulders, “It’s of no import. As long as the truth is found and her murderer is brought to justice... if she has one.”

Lestrade groaned and shook his head, “I was hoping for an easy case… open and shut. Why can’t I ever get a simple case?”

Sherlock patted his shoulder, “Cheer up Lestrade, you have me on the case.” He glanced at the medical examiner, “and a competent medical examiner as well.”

“High praise coming from Sherlock Holmes,” the young man grinned.

Sherlock laughed, “You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“It would be a shame to lose my advantage, but future interactions would be easier if you knew my name. John Watson,” he introduced himself. He held up his hands, “I’d shake your hand but… a handkerchief isn’t the best for cleaning up.”

Sherlock nodded, “I understand.” He looked John over, more closely this time. He noticed when John spoke to him, he was clear and direct. Sherlock appreciated how he also looked him straight in the eye. Due to Sherlock’s straightforward no nonsense nature, most people tended to avert their gaze in case they said something wrong. This man seemed to know of him, but gave no indication of intimidation.

Lestrade motioned to nearby officers to take the body away for further examination. He waved a hand at John, “This is our new medical examiner, as I’m sure you’ve deduced. Just started today.”

John tilted his head to move his bangs out of his eyes. He smiled as he kept eye contact with Sherlock. His hands rested easy in his pockets, but his posture remained straight. Formal, but comfortable. “Have you figured me out yet?”

Sherlock raised an eyebrow, “Figured you out?”

“My whole life story. Aren’t you able to glance at a person and deduce everything about them from their clothes, posture, etc.?” he was smiling, but it wasn’t mocking like he had seen others do when asking about his talents. John truly seemed to believe it was something Sherlock was capable of.

“You were in the military,” Sherlock started. “Your clothes aren’t new, but they are well taken care of. It’s not only out of prudence, but habit. You pressed your suit and polished your shoes in preparation for the day, as you were trained to do when you were an officer.” 

Sherlock indicated to his hair. “You’ve been out of the military for several months, so your hair has had time to grow. You aren’t used to the new length… but you haven’t had time to cut it.” He examined John once more to determine whether he could deduce the reason for this. “You were injured? No, there’d still be visible signs if that were so. It has to be something detrimental enough to excuse you from military duty, but not inhibit you from working after recovery… you were sick. Most likely from enteric fever.”

“That’s amazing,” John laughed and nodded his head, “everything you said was correct.”

Sherlock felt his heart warm with the praise. He was used to receiving disdained grumbles or anger at how accurate his skills were. He found it odd that the man had such an effect on him, but he didn’t mind it.

“Alright then,” Lestrade sighed, “let’s get on with the case shall we? I have some very impatient higher ups who want this solved as soon as possible.”

“Right,” John nodded and headed toward the examiner’s vehicle. He glanced over his shoulder at Sherlock, “aren’t you coming?”

Sherlock felt his heart jump in his chest. He snapped his attention toward John, “I’m sorry?”

“Apologies if I’m wrong. I assumed you would want to come see the results of the autopsy,” John tilted his head as he continued to gaze at Sherlock. His bright blue eyes seemed to stare straight into Sherlock’s soul. It gave Sherlock a strange feeling.

“Ah, yes… of course, but I usually wait. The previous medical examiner didn’t appreciate me attending his autopsies.” Sherlock wasn’t sure why he felt embarrassed to share this bit of information. 

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” John winked.

Sherlock tried to keep his face neutral as he felt his face grow warm. He nodded his head as he followed John to the car. To say it was going to be interesting to work with the new examiner was an understatement.


End file.
